Davis Cup: Asia Oceania Group III: Acclimating to Humidity Round II/ Khmer New Year!

Suor Sdey (hello) everyone! I'm back in Cambodia, and once again with younger brother Chub! We are here to compete in Davis Cup: Asia Oceania Group III. WE ARE PUMPED! Chub and I arrived in Phnom Penh on the 5th of April and just like last time it was a battle against getting used to the humidity right as we left the entrance of Pochentong Airport. It was super nice of Rithi (the Secretary General of the Cambodian Tennis Federation and Non-Playing Captain for us Davis Cuppers) and his son Timothy to receive us upon arrival, since it was around 11:30 on Friday night and a couple hours past Timothy's bedtime :) All in all it was good to be back and we were ready to slug it out in the heat.

Unfortunately our National Head Coach, Braen Aneiros, was not in Phnom Penh yet, but traveling around Vietnam with Cambodian #1 Kenny Bun and Samneang Long; fellow national team members and good friends of ours. For the first 4 days we were on our own. In the end it didn't turn out to be so bad :) The last time we were here to play the futures events we were not so fortunate in terms of having enough time to train before competition. In November we had about a week to get ready before our first Futures, and most of the time it felt like catching up; mostly because Chub and I hadn't been playing much beforehand, oops. This time around its very much different since we'll have 3 full weeks before we head out to Myanmar, where Davis Cup will be held for Group III, at the end of this month. So getting back to what I was saying, having 3 or 4 days to hit on our own time and pace, acclimating to the weather and surroundings, was a luxury. Many of you reading might call our fortunate beginning here laid back or even lazy (of which I am most of the time as LC Head Coach Pat can confirm), but I call it getting situated strategically, haha. The first 2 days back we hit once a day for an hour, directly followed by a mile in the track. Going from 50 degree weather to highs of 90 AND humid, an hour was tooouuugh. The last two days before Braen arrived we hit twice a day, in the mornings for an hour followed by a set in the evening and a light gym workout right after. We felt better and better each day and were ready for Braen!

On Wednesday and Thursday we did 2 a days, and though they were a little rough, we felt pretty good for the most part. Chub and I have been taking a recovery drink after each practice and it's been helping out a lot. This is a practice we've picked up from our Uncle Sithi and very good friend Michael Au! Michael was going to join us here in Cambodia for a week, but sadly it did not work out :( Back to what I was saying, it's more or less a protein shake and it's great for recovery and rebuilding. If you've been following me on Twitter, you'll know that we've been doing a little bit of Insanity! Great name for the workout, because I thought the warm-up was the workout, and when Braen told us that we weren't done and were just getting started I almost flipped over and died. We started out easy with Cardio Recovery on Wednesday, and on Friday we attempted Pure Cardio, which is a freaking amazing workout, but hell, all at the same time. Haha, "I hate it, but I loooovvee it."

Friday morning was an early one, but I didn't mind getting up because I was going to get to see the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen! We were up at 4:30 in the morning and at the Olympic Stadium by 5. Also at the stadium, were all of the National Team Athletes who were in town. It was a pretty cool sight because all the athletes were advised to wear their Sea Games track suits, so it was a sea of blue and red, the colors of the Cambodian Flag. The reason for the gathering was to celebrate the Inauguration of the new National Sports Complex. In Southeast Asia, there is a huge event called the SEA Games, an olympic-like event for all of Southeast Asia, and Cambodia is set to host the Games in 2023! Despite the earliness of it all, it was a really cool experience for me, getting to see Hun Sen for the first time, and all the other national athletes.

Just as things were starting to heat up for us tennis wise, the life of the city slowed down a bit. Today is the first day of Cambodian New Years! Joul Chnam Khmer everyone! Just as any other holiday, it is spent mostly with family. Everything here has been shutting down and a lot of people have left for their home provinces for the Khmer New Year, which started today and will last until Tuesday. A few hours leading up to New Years, Chub and I had a great New Years dinner with Braen and his friend Ploy, who is visiting from Thailand. She is a former top 200 WTA Player, aka baller status. We went to a Brazilian Steakhouse, and though it was $35, every little bite I took was worth it! In an hour or so Chub and I will leave to Kep, a city on the coast of Cambodia, where we will spend the New Years training and playing with Rithi's various toys, which include motos, atvs, and jetskis!

I want to give a shout out to all my friends and family back home. Miss you Mom and Dad. Maiko, tell Joshua not to touch my stuff! To the LC Men's Tennis Team: great season boys, we are going to be filthy next year! Cole, great way to end the season baby, see you at graduation! Ryo Ryo: Don't worry, we will meet again my friend! Itsumo Zela Seshi! To the LC Women's Tennis Team: Goodluck at Conference next weekend girls, I know you'll do well! If any of you would like to keep track of the girls team, you can follow Pat or Marco's tweets next weekend or visit LC's Athletic site at: http://www.lcpioneers.com/landing/index. The girls will be going into the conference tournament as the 2nd seed, behind the hosting team for the conference tournament, Whitman College. Izzy, see you at Graduation! Gillian, where are you going again!? See you in a year!!! Hope everyone is doing well, here are some pictures I've taken. For my Khmer followers, if any, I will try to add more Khmer since I have a new friend that's going to help me out :)

Joul Chnam Khmer!!!